Underway to the Japan Seas in search of silk, the Wolf, smitten by love, begins to understand Lady Seafourthe’s answer to the riddle of the heart. They become bound together, sailing into the dangerous unknown.

By fortuitous incident in the Philippine Sea, the Wolf is invited by the notorious Wokou to parley. Lucien entices the dangerous outlaws with a plan to seize the Spanish Intramuros at Maynila, a city filled with treasure. After perilous missions pirating from Japan to China, the Captain and his Wokou partners engage in a final battle against the Dutch and Manchurian mercenaries to determine who will become the Masters of the China Seas.

Among the hostages of the mercenaries is the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, and the Wolf agrees to escort him back to Tibet. Stopping in India, ruled by the powerful Mughal Empire, the Captain and Lady Seafourthe discover life-changing insights as they listen to the Dalai Lama during their journey to Shangri-La. However, upon returning to Kalikata, the small company faces life-threatening peril from the religious Stranglers of the Goddess Kali—and perhaps betrayal by the Mughal Empire itself.